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Tag: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
RFK Jr. to announce running mate for independent presidential bid
Oakland, California — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to announce his running mate Tuesday, in Oakland, California, as his campaign faces questions about ballot access in several states that require a named vice presidential candidate during the petition process.
A few names have already been circulating, including NFL player Aaron Rodgers, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, and wealthy Democratic donor Nicole Shanahan. The Kennedy campaign has so far kept the name secret and denied it wanted to turn the process into “a guessing game.”
“We know it sucks waiting till the 26th,” senior Kennedy campaign adviser Link Lauren posted on X earlier this month “We’ve all discussed, including Bobby, how our campaign is run on transparency and honesty, and the media hysteria isn’t fun for our loyal supporters. We’ve had to lean into the media’s ‘Veepstakes’ cause what else is there to do?”
Here are some of the names Kennedy is said to be considering:
Nicole Shanahan
Shanahan, an affluent California-based attorney and entrepreneur, also known for her high-profile divorce from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, is thought to be a leading contender, particularly since the campaign will require substantial funding in the months ahead.
The 38-year-old contributed $4 million to the super PAC supporting Kennedy, American Values 2024, and was involved in coordinating the production of a Super Bowl ad highlighting Kennedy’s campaign.
Shanahan told The New York Times that she paid for the ad production and its airing because she believed Kennedy would provide more screening risks for vaccines and “it seems like a great opportunity to highlight that he’s running for president,” though she added that she is “not an anti-vaxxer.”
Shanahan’s substantial financial resources would undoubtedly be helpful to Kennedy, who faces the formidable and expensive challenge of obtaining ballot access, which is likely to cost millions and requires hundreds of thousands of signatures.
Aaron Rodgers
The 40-year-old Green Bay Packers quarterback, now with the New York Jets, shares Kennedy’s skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines.
In 2021, Rodgers confirmed his own unvaccinated status just days after testing positive for COVID-19, forcing him to sit out a Sunday football game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I believe strongly in bodily autonomy, and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke culture where a crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something. Health is not a one-size-fits-all,” Rodgers said in an interview with “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Kennedy first told The New York Times that NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a leading candidate on his list, and campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear confirmed he was on the shortlist.
Jesse Ventura
Kennedy also told the Times he has talked with former Minnesota Gov. and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his running mate.
Ventura, 72, a one-term governor who ran on the Reform Party ticket, said he’d consider the job, though he disagrees with Kennedy’s opposition to vaccines.
Tyrel Ventura, Mr. Ventura’s son, told the Times, “No one has officially asked Gov. Ventura to be a vice-presidential candidate, so the governor does not comment on speculation.”
Tulsi Gabbard
Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, 42, hasn’t denied she was approached by Kennedy, but when asked about it on the Jackman Radio show last week, only said, “I’m gonna let Bobby Kennedy speak for himself. He’s a good friend and I really love and respect him and his heart and why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
At CPAC in February, however, Gabbard showered praise on former President Donald Trump in her address.
Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe, the 62-year-old former host of “Dirty Jobs” TV series, told CNN that he received a call from Kennedy about being his vice president.
The 62-year-old said they discussed vocational training and his foundation, mikeroweWORKS. Kennedy asked if he’d consider running for public office, prompting Rowe’s surprise.
“Yeah, he called. Actually, I ran into him about six months ago in Dallas, totally serendipitously, and we exchanged information and he reached out about a month ago,” Rowe said. “At some point, he asked me if I would ever consider running for public office, and I spit my coffee back into my cup and I said, ‘Seriously?'”
RFK Jr.’s ballot signatures could be invalid in Nevada without VP
With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set to unveil his running mate on Tuesday, an unforeseen hiccup has emerged in Nevada, complicating the long-shot independent’s path to gaining ballot access in the Silver State.
Kennedy’s vice presidential pick comes as he needs a running mate to qualify for the ballot in multiple states. And despite the campaign’s announcement earlier this month celebrating amassing 15,000 signatures in Nevada, which exceeds what’s needed to get on the ballot in November, the campaign could be forced to start its signature collection from scratch in the state because it failed to name a running mate when it filed Kennedy’s petition, according to documents filed by Kennedy.
Nevada’s presidential candidate’s guide states that independent candidate petitions must include both the presidential and vice presidential candidates’ names on the petition in order to be valid, the Nevada secretary of state’s office confirmed.
Documents requested from the Nevada office revealed that Kennedy only names himself on the petition, in violation of the rules and rendering the signatures collected in the state by his campaign void.
While this setback pushes him one step further from his goal of securing a spot on the ballot in all 50 states, the campaign still has time to collect new signatures, once Kennedy’s running mate is named Tuesday. The deadline to file the petition in Nevada is July 5.
Kennedy’s campaign said it had not yet submitted the signatures to the Nevada office.
The campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Where is Kennedy on the ballot?
The only state that has confirmed Kennedy is on the ballot is Utah. Every state has different laws for an independent candidate to get on the ballot, making it one of the most difficult parts of the campaign for a candidate who is not from a major party.
Emily Elconin / Getty Images
In New Hampshire, independent candidates need to submit a Declaration of Intent during the filing period in June before submitting at least 3,000 signatures to the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office.
The Office of Elections in Hawaii confirmed that Kennedy supporters have collected enough signatures to establish the “We The People” party, which can then name Kennedy as its presidential nominee on the ballot. New Hampshire and Hawaii as well require a vice-presidential candidate be named before Kennedy can gain ballot access in either state.
It’s unclear if signatures collected in other states that require named running mates for independent presidential candidates to gain ballot access will also be impacted.
The super PAC supporting Kennedy, American Values 2024, has helped collect signatures for ballot access and said in December that it planned to spend $10 million to $15 million on the effort. But in February, the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign and the super PAC supporting him, American Values 2024, alleging the two were illegally colluding on ballot access for Kennedy.
American Values 2024 said that it would stop collecting signatures for ballot access on his behalf after it said it had met the signature thresholds in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.
The PAC is now redirecting its efforts in an attempt to counteract Democratic and Republican efforts to weaken third-party campaigns.
“Given the campaign’s success, we are no longer collecting signatures in any additional states, and will continue to fight the [Democratic National Committee] or [Republican National Committee] when they try to interfere with the constitutional right of American voters who overwhelmingly want independent candidates on the ballot,” the PAC said in a press release earlier this month.
The Nevada secretary of state’s office said that on March 7 — two days after Kennedy announced his campaign had reached the signature threshold — it sent a memo to all independent presidential candidates petitioning for ballot access that explicitly stated their filings with the office had to consist of “a declaration of candidacy and a petition of candidacy, in which the person must also designate a nominee for Vice President.”
For the major parties, the vice presidential candidate is traditionally announced close to the nominating conventions, and the presidential and vice presidential nominees formally accept the nomination of their parties at the convention. The Democratic National Convention will be held Aug. 19-24, and the Republican National Convention is taking place July 15-18.